


Fascinating

by geekyjez



Series: Isii Lavellan [12]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, Pre-Relationship, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8679757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekyjez/pseuds/geekyjez
Summary: Isii Lavellan enjoys some time alone with Solas, the two friends conversing as they gaze at the stars above. As she coaxes more details of his past into the open, she gets a bit more than she bargained for.
  Pre-relationship Solavellan. My take on the infamous "indomitable focus" flirtation.





	

“The Orlesians call that constellation Eluvia,” Solas explained, speaking in hushed tones as Isii lay beside him in the grass, staring up at the sky. Their fire was growing dim, the flames reduced to little more than idle flickers over glowing embers. All was quiet in their camp, save for their voices and the low hum of the forest around them, their companions having long since retired to their tents. “According to their tales, she was once a young woman who caught the eye of a lustful mage.”

“Can’t trust those lustful mages,” she added with a sigh, her eyes closing.

“Am I not holding your interest?” Solas asked.

“Mmmm no, you are,” she hummed. “I just like listening to you talk. Keep going. Tell me about Eluvian.”

“Eluvia,” he corrected. “The mage wanted her more than anything. She was kind. Beautiful. Intelligent. She was everything he could have ever asked for and his desire for her went beyond his better judgement,” he murmured softly. “In some versions of the tale, she spurned his advances. In others, she accepted him with open arms. Either way, the outcome is the same. When her father learned of the mage’s intentions, he sent his daughter into the sky to keep her out of the hands of the man who desired her so fiercely. The mage tried everything he could to retrieve her, but despite his determination, he lacked the power to reunite with Eluvia. So the mage took his revenge, killing her father for stealing her away. Eluvia remained trapped, unable to return to the ground below. In her grief, she veiled her face with the clouds around her, her body eventually melting away into the starlight you see now.”

“That’s a strange story.”

“No stranger than some of the legends contained within elven mythology,” he reasoned. “When the Imperium ruled the southlands, the people here used to make wishes while gazing up at Eluvia. They would hold their breath to a count of three, focusing solely on the object of their desire, believing it would be granted to them in three days time.”

“Is that right?” Isii hummed. She took a slow breath, holding it, a small smile curling her lips as she stared up at the cluster of stars. She let it out with a sigh, her grin widening. “Well, we’ll have to see if it works.”

“Might I ask what you wished for?”

“It’s bad luck to share a wish,” Isii said coyly. “The Dread Wolf might hear it.”

He frowned, confused. “I take it that is an undesirable outcome?”

“It’s a childish thing,” she giggled, “but when I was little, I was told that if the Dread Wolf heard your wish, he’d twist it into something bad.”

“One would think he’d have better things to do with his time,” he muttered.

“Speaking of which…” Her words drifted away as she bit her lip, scanning the sky. “There,” she said, pointing. “Just above that cloud. I can always find Fen’Harel because of the really bright star at the tip of his tail. Do the humans see that one as a wolf too?”

“Yes,” he answered. “They call him Fenrir. A white wolf who fled into the sky when he was being hunted… or so the modern scholars claim. In truth, I have never come across that story being shared in the Fade.”

She rolled onto her side, tucking her arm beneath her head. “What made you start studying the Fade in the first place?”

Solas considered for a moment, staring at the sky. “I grew up in a village to the north,” he said. “It was a small settlement. Peaceful, but… There was little to interest a young man, especially one gifted with magic.”

“Really?” she teased, arching a brow. “Was there no one there who could hold your attention?”

He let out a sad huff of a laugh. “No. At least… such pursuits never held my interest for long. And yet as I slept, the spirits of the Fade showed me glimpses of wonders I had never imagined. Visions of worlds I could never have conceived of. They were so vibrant. They promised so much more than the life I’d been living. Over time, I grew to treasure my dreams. Being awake, out of the Fade, became troublesome.”

“It sounds like you wanted to escape.”

He glanced over, his eyes meeting her own. “I suppose you’re right,” he said. “There was a time I wanted nothing more than to leave that place. I wanted to explore, to seek out hidden truths, to collect and share the many revelations that I knew I would find if only I searched for them.” He paused, his gaze returning to the sky. “The arrogance of youth, I suppose,” he added quietly.

“Do you miss it? Your village?”

He considered, his lips pursed thoughtfully. “Sometimes.”

“Would you ever want to go back?”

“There is nothing left for me there,” he answered.

“No family? Friends?” Solas did not speak, his eyes still cast upward, a certain distance in his gaze that made her regret the question. His silence was a sufficient answer all on its own. “So, you left,” she continued, pressing forward. “But you haven’t spent your whole life dreaming.”

“No. Eventually I was unable to find new areas in the Fade.”

“Why’s that?”

“Two reasons,” he began, sitting upright. “First, the Fade reflects the world around it. Unless I traveled, I would never find anything new. Second, the Fade reflects and is limited by our imagination. To find interesting areas, one must be interesting.”

She propped herself up on her elbow. “Well you certainly don’t have to worry about that second part, do you?”

He peered at her, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. “Are you attempting to flatter me?”

“Is that not obvious?” she chuckled. “Yes. It’s my clumsy, roundabout way of saying I find you very interesting, Solas.”

He studied her for a moment before nodding. “Thank you. In truth, I have enjoyed experiencing more of life to find more of the Fade.”

“How so?”

“You train your will to control your magic and withstand possession. Your indomitable focus is an enjoyable side benefit. You have chosen a path whose steps you do not dislike because it leads to a destination you enjoy. As have I.”

Isii’s brow arched once more. “Indomitable focus?”

“Presumably,” he murmured, his voice lowering as he gazed back at her. “I have yet to see it dominated. I imagine that the sight would be…” His gaze shifted, tracing over her lips and the slope of her neck before meeting her eyes once more. “Fascinating,” he finished.

Isii stilled, a breath caught in her throat. The shift in his tone was so sudden that she wondered if she'd imagined it, wondered if maybe she was misinterpreting his intent - yet despite her doubts, she felt a delicious tension stirring in her chest. “Oh?” she whispered, scooting to sit up, pale curls framing her face as she leaned close to his shoulder. “And how would you see me dominated?”

Solas did not move save for his eyes, iridescent and cat-like as they reflected the pale moonlight, skimming across her features. “Slowly,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble in his chest. He reached over, hesitant fingertips loosely gathering strands of her hair. “A test of patience, I think,” he whispered. “Endurance.” He tucked the curls behind her ear, his touch drifting along its pointed length. A small touch - so very, very small - and yet Isii shivered all the same as his fingers lingered, dragging slowly against the base of her earlobe. “Your impulsivity would likely be difficult to master if you were forced to resist pursuing your goal.” He wet his lips unconsciously, his eyes dipping briefly to her mouth. “Particularly if there is a certain… _satisfaction_ to be found in achieving it.”

“And who would be giving me this test?” she asked. “You?” Solas remained silent, his gaze a mixture of intrigue and something else that she couldn’t quite discern. She leaned in, fingertips trailing along the front of his tunic, nails dragging against the rough-spun cloth. “Because I’ll have you know…” she whispered, her face hovering close to his own, “I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

“A shame,” he said, closing the distance further, his mouth a breath away from her own as he spoke, his fingers curling around the hand pressed against his chest. “Anticipation can be a worthy distraction, if applied correctly.”

His chin tilted, lips parting. But no sooner had her breaths stilled in expectation then he was drawing away again, pulling her hand from his chest. “It is late,” he said, pushing himself to his feet.

The change was once again so quick that Isii felt temporarily stunned, blinking. “What?”

“We should both get some rest,” he said, brushing stray twigs and blades of grass from his clothing. “We have a long journey ahead of us and should not delay.”

“I…” Isii paused, shaking her head. “You’re right,” she said, frowning. “The sooner we get back to Skyhold, the better.”

He nodded his own dismissal, so formal and impersonal compared to his manner just a moment before that Isii had to take a moment to simply sit, staring at the dead campfire in stunned silence as Solas ducked into their tent, barely hiding his satisfied grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Heavily based on in-game dialogue (understandably). I fleshed out a few more (still vague) details about his life in the "village to the north". I also took some creative license with the story of Eluvia. The core is from canon lore, but I expanded it a bit in terms of the retelling.


End file.
